


Schoolyard Bullies

by Daniscats



Series: The Incredible Story of Captain Shepard and the Love that Saved the Galaxy! Drabbles and Misc [7]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, little blue children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 14:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11761968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daniscats/pseuds/Daniscats
Summary: Liara and Shepard have an argument about parenting. Turns out, they are not as far apart as they think they are on the issue.





	Schoolyard Bullies

    "Yes. Of course." Liara answered with a roll of her eyes. "But it is illogical to use words when they will no longer have any effect."

    Shepard laughed. "I agree! We are both saying the same thing here. There is a time when violence, as a last resort, is necessary. And yet, I am always the one blamed when the children use violence."

    "Because it is simply a fact that you are more naturally violent than I am. It is more in your nature."

    "Oh really? A fact of nature you say? Do you have evidence to support this fact?"

    Liara sighed. "Please, Shepard. We both know it to be true. Do we really have to play these games? You were a soldier. You naturally gravitated towards a violent profession..."

    Shepard let out a chortle. "I naturally gravitated to not wanting to die in a gutter somewhere and the Alliance was just about the only way out of that gutter." Shepard paused before adding sarcastically, "I'm sorry. I thought we had met before and you already knew this."

    "You see? Even your verbal debating style is more violent. Sarcasm is a form of verbal violence. I am just naturally able to avoid such tendencies."

    "How about threats of grave bodily harm or murder? Is that verbal violence because I've certainly seen you threaten more people than I've ever threatened."

    "No. You are less likely to threaten them and more likely to just hit them or shoot them."

    "Oh really? Well, you know what I'm going to do right now? I'm going to disengage from this conflict and go have a talk with *my* daughter about how to act non-violently."

    "You do that. And when you're done, I'll go talk to my daughter and undo the damage that you did."

    Shepard stormed off. "Nice!"

 

 

 

    Shepard had been talking to Benezia for the last five minutes, trying to counsel her on why it was not okay to use violence even when someone else starts the confrontation.

    "Remember, you need to talk your way out of conflict and if you can't do that, just walk away. I have no doubt that this girl started it. I have no doubt that she was teasing you when you were just minding your own business not bothering her at all but it was still wrong to hit her."

    "I didn't hit her!"

    "You know what I'm talking about Benezia. You used physical force when she was only using words and that's not okay."

    "But she wouldn't leave me alone!"

    "Then you walk away."

    "But she hit me first!"

    "What are you talking about? I thought you said she was teasing you and wouldn't leave you alone and that the other kids were laughing at you because of it?"

    "Yes, but then I teased her back and the other kids starting laughing at her. She got mad and she threw a biotic field at me. But it was so weak, it just tickled. So I laughed at her and she got even madder. She threw another one at me and that one tickled even more so everyone laughed harder. She kept doing it and they got weaker and weaker. It was sad. I tried to walk away but then she lunged at me. So I did what you showed me. I moved to the side real quick and stuck my foot out and she went sprawling. I used her aggression against her just like you told me to!"

    Shepard couldn't help but smile a little.

    "Oh well, in that case, you had the right to defend yourself. But I thought the teacher said that a student got hurt because you used your biotics?"

   

    A half hour later, another parent had taken over providing counsel to her daughter.

    "Help me understand, Benezia. If this girl fell after she lunged at you, why did you use your biotics on her? Why would you attack someone who is already down?"

    "I didn't!"

    "But your instructor said that you used biotics."

    "I did, but not on her! After she was on the ground, this older kid pushed through the crowd and saw her sister on the ground. She threw a biotic push at me so I did what you showed me to do. I used my own biotics to throw it back at her and then she went down."

    "So, she attacked you first? Without even asking you what happened first?"

    "Yes! If I hadn't used my biotics to deflect her throw, I would have gone flying. She's like three years older than me."

     Liara smiled but then quickly forced a neutral expression on her face again. The use of violence, no matter how justified, was not something to take pride in.

    "If that is the case, you did the right thing. You have the right to defend yourself. I just don't want to ever hear about you hitting anyone unless you can't avoid it. Unless they attack you first."

    "Yes, Mom." Benezia sighed. "Dad told me the same thing."

 

 

 

    Liara came back down to the living room and sat down next to Shepard, who was watching the vid screen.

    "I spoke with Benezia and I think she now understands that she should not use violence unless it is absolutely necessary. I am going to call her Instructor in the morning and demand to see the camera footage of the incident. It's not right that she be punished when the other two were the aggressors."  

    "I agree. It's not her fault that they got hurt and she didn't just because she's a better fighter than they are. Including a kid three years older than she is."

    Liara and Shepard looked at each other, their eyes bright and smiled but then both quickly looked away and focused on the vid screen.

    "Not that being good at the use of violence is something to be proud of", Liara admonished.

    "Again, I agree. We want our kids to be able to defend themselves but it is not something that we want them to be proud of." Shepard couldn't help but smile again.


End file.
